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<br />Item No: 7G <br />Meeting Date: May 11, 2015 <br />Type of Business: Public Hearing <br />Administrator Review: _______ <br /> <br />City of Mounds View Staff Report <br /> To: Honorable Mayor and City Council <br /> From: Heidi Heller, Planning Associate <br />Item Title/Subject: Public Hearing - Second Reading and Adoption of Ordinance <br />899, Amending Chapters 1102 and 1106 of the Mounds View <br />Zoning Code to Allow Columbaria on Properties owned by <br />Religious Institutions (ROLL CALL VOTE) <br /> <br /> <br />A Mounds View church member recently contacted the City to inquire if a columbarium would <br />be allowed on the church property. Their church was considering adding a columbarium and <br />the church member said many churches are now considering installing a columbarium for their <br />patrons. They are considering one or two structures that would be about 10 feet long and 6 <br />feet tall. Many funeral homes report that more than 50% of deaths now result in cremation <br />rather than a burial, so it is understandable that more places are needed to store urns. <br />Mounds View does not currently have any cemeteries, nor does the City Code address <br />cemeteries or columbaria. <br /> <br />The Planning Commission and City Council have both discussed this and felt that a columbarium <br />could be considered an accessory building, with a few specific requirements added and a <br />definition. The Planning Commission approved Resolution 1022-15, recommending approval of a <br />code amendment for columbaria to be an allowed use on properties used as religious institutions. <br />The City Attorney made three recommendations after the first reading, so the following changes <br />were made to the ordinance: <br /> <br />- Removed the language “such as churches, chapels, temples and synagogues” from 1106.03 <br />Subd. 8; <br />- Added an additional condition, “The religious institution must own the property on which the <br />columbarium is placed;” <br />- Removed the language “of the institution’s closing” in Subd. 8g. <br /> <br />Recommendation <br />Staff recommends the Council adopt Ordinance 899. Staff also recommends the Council <br />consent to the publication of a summary of the ordinance as authorized by City Charter <br />section 3.07. <br /> <br />Sincerely, <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Heidi Heller, Planning Associate <br /> <br />Attachments: <br />1. Ordinance 899